by
Sean Ruck, Contributing Editor | November 06, 2018
From the November 2018 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
GM: It was all pre-designation to get the staffing set up because University of Chicago had very strict guidelines of what they needed. We took it as a compliment when they came around. But we’re always improving. To me, everything needs to reach 100% and stay there. The good news, whether it’s Northwestern, University of Chicago, or other potential partners, they did the work to check us out. They wanted to make sure we were going to be a positive partnership with them.
HCB News: Are there any new challenges that come with the designation?
GM: Several challenges are out there. Just when you start to get things right, it changes. So you have to stay on top of the changes. There’s also a nursing shortage in Illinois. And if someone bumps the salary a few dollars, then you have to find new nurses in a tight market. The industry is a tough industry. If you said that to me 10 years ago, I wouldn’t have believed it. But having the personal experience, I now realize the truth to that.
HCB News: What are the advantages or benefits of having the children’s hospital designation?
GM: It’s largely a benefit where we can let our community know we’re not going to go away. It was also a chance to let the community know about the partnership with the university. It gives us credibility because it’s a state designation, it all helps. We’re basically educating our community to bring their children in for their vaccinations, for their checkups. To do that, you need credibility to ease people’s concerns. So it helped with that.
Little Tony reads with Speech Therapy Patient
HCB News: Can you tell us about the “seamless transitional care model”?
GM: If there’s a service we can’t provide, the seamless transition means as long as the family agrees, the child can get transferred to the University of Chicago and they’re prepared over there for the child the moment that child arrives because of the strong communications between us and the University, and it’s literally seamless.
HCB News: I know there were plans to move to a new space by 2021 – will there be big plans for the pediatric offerings at the new locale?
GM: We are not looking at changing the model. We have regular beds and we have an intermediate department. As we follow this model with the University, I’d say there will be tweaks though. For instance, one of the things I was talking to the architects about was having a separate ER pediatric entrance for the ambulance and patients. There would also be a separate elevator to the pediatric level.
